Football: CU Buffs recruits closely watching coaching search

Houston DE Loud de-commits from Buffs

Current CU players aren't the only ones waiting to hear about their new head coach. Colorado recruits are closely watching the search.
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JEREMY PAPASSO
)

The Colorado football team began Friday with 13 players committed to the Class of 2013.

The Buffs ended the day with 12.

Rivals.com reported that Marcus Loud, a defensive end from Houston, de-committed and gave a verbal commitment to Missouri, a former Big 12 rival of the Buffs.

Without a head coach in place -- Jon Embree was fired on Nov. 25 -- and with its staff of assistants currently in limbo, CU runs the risk of losing more commitments.

"It's certainly not a good thing that a coach isn't in place and that there's really no stability there right now," said Adam Gorney, West recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. "A lot of prospects, and especially their parents, are looking at this thing and kind of questioning where it's headed, and other schools are coming in and recruiting some of them. There's obviously a few concerns there if you're a Colorado fan of when a coach is going to be named, who it's going to be, who their assistant coaches are going to be."

CU's drawn-out search for a new head coach enters Day 13 on Saturday. With the recruiting dead period looming, from Dec. 17-Jan. 3, there is concern among CU fans about the Buffs falling further behind in recruiting.

Ross, a receiver from Mission Hills, Calif., told the Daily Camera last week that he was already looking at other schools because of CU's poor play this season. The Buffs went 1-11 and were blown out in several losses. Not having a head coach isn't helping.

On Friday, receiver Elijah Dunston, from West Hills, Calif., said he's still committed to CU, but he is taking an official visit to Fresno State. (Ironically, Bulldogs head coach Tim DeRuyter is rumored to be a candidate for CU's vacancy.)

"I'm just looking to see who the new coach is going to be (at CU), see what his strengths are with offense and see if I'll fit in," Dunston said.

This is a critical time for Colorado. During the dead period, no face-to-face visits are allowed with recruits and coaches are allowed just one phone call per week to a player (although e-mails are allowed, and players can call coaches as often as they want). Gorney said it would be to CU's advantage to have a coach and staff in place as soon as possible.

"Opening up those lines of communication (before the dead period) for recruits to become aware of who the assistants are and to start building a relationship with those guys, that's really the crucial thing there," Gorney said.

Gorney said the bigger concern for CU is the parents of recruits, and not so much the recruits themselves.

"Once that coach is in place and assistants start visiting, (the players) are not going to care that it took an extra two or three weeks to get a coach in place," Gorney said. "But, I do think from a parents' perspective, they would feel more comfortable with things in place so they know where their kid is going."

Certainly, the news isn't all bad for the Buffs. Denver South running Phillip Lindsay has told the Camera he will stick with CU no matter who winds up as the coach.

Offensive lineman Sam Kronshage, from The Woodlands, Texas, said on Friday that he will keep his options open, but that he is "still very excited to become a Buffalo."

Kronshage does not agree with CU's decision to fire Embree. But, he said he loves the school and hopes the Buffs can get on track soon.

"I think they need to talk to all their recruits (during the transition period) and make sure that everyone is still strong on Colorado and make sure we still have a good recruiting class," Kronshage said.

Kronshage said he's had very little contact with CU line coach Steve Marshall.

"He just told me what he knows and that's not anything I don't know," Kronshage said.

In the end, CU's recruiting class may not take much of a hit. Losing Loud, and possibly Ross, would hurt, but Embree was criticized for filling his class with unheralded players that aren't getting looks from other top schools. That ultimately may wind up being what helps CU's new coach -- whoever that might be -- to a smoother transition.

"That sort of is the blessing and the curse of this class," Gorney said. "Not a lot of these schools want these kids at the high end of the Pac-12, but that means the new coach might have a little bit of an easier time convincing them to come because they're still going to be playing Pac-12 football."

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